Double sheet drier and galvanizing apparatus



May '22; 19278.

` E. T. MccLEARY v DOUBLE SHEET DRIER AND GALVANIZING APPARATUS l. l' f. 111 l, ,1111/ ,11,1

May 22, 1928. l1,670,81 7

E. T. MGCLEARY f DOUBLE SHEET DRIER AND GALVANIZING APPARATUS 4 Sheets- Sheet 2 *May 22, 192s; 1,670,817

E. 1'. MccLEARY DOUBLE SHEET DRIER AND GALVANIZING APPARATUS A Filed Fgbjg. 1925A` asusta-sheet 4 40 the usual apparatus of this character.

PATENT OFFICE.

ELMER IAEOGLEABY, OF YOIJ'NGS'IIOWN, OHIO.

DOUBLE SHEET DBIEB AN D G'ALVANIZING APPARATUS.

Application led February 9, 1925. Serial 110.1307.

The present inventionrelates to galvanizing, and more particularly to galvanizing sheets.

In the process of galvanizing iron Yand l steel sheets, it is customary to pickle the sheets in sulphuric acid and to wash the-m prior to coating them wit-h the spelter. It has also been proposed to pass the pickled and washed sheets through a tank containing a iluxing bath, such as a zinc chloride water solution, coating of the filming-material, and then to pass them through a drying chamber and then into and through the spelter bath in 1B the galvanizing pot.

By the present invention I provide intermediate thc flux tank and the galvanizing pot a drier which comprises two sets of chain conveyors arranged one above the other in a drying chamber which is directly over a gas-heated oven, the drying chamber being separated from the oven by a horizontal partition. At the entering end of the drier a movable guide plate is provided which is adapted to direct the sheets to the two conveyors alternately, while at the discharge end of the drier two sets of feed rolls and cooperating guides are provided which conduct the sheets from the conveyors l0 to the intake rolls of the galvanizing pot.

Ordinarily the galvanizing apparatus comprises a single set of intake, bottom and exit rolls and cooperating guides. In accordance with the present invention, however, two

complete sets ofsuch rolls and guides are provided, one for each of the conveyors.

An important advantage of this invention is that it provides a galvanizing apparatus having substantially double the capacityof A n' other advantage is that the drying chamber can be made relativc'ly short because there are two conveyors in the drying chamber, and two sets of rolls and guides associated V with the galvanizing pot to take care of the sheets which are passed through the single flux tank.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein I have illustrated a `preferred embodiment of my invention:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through the right hand portion of the apparatus; and

Figure 1u is a corresponding sectional view through the left hand portion of the apparatus;

whereby they are given av sheets after they Figure 2 is a plan view, broken away, of the conveyors, feed rolls and guides which are located in the drying chamber. This View also shows in plan a portion of the feed rolls and guides associated with the flux tank;

Figure 3 is a plan view ofthe galvanizing apparatus; v

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line IV-IV of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a detail view, illustrating the movable guide plate associated with the conveyors;

Figure 6 is a detail view, illustrating the means for pressing the exit rolls of the galvanlzing apparatus together;

Figure 7 is a detail view of one of the elenents of the means shown in Figure 6; an

Figure 8 is a section on the line VIII- VIII of Figure 6.

Referring to Figure 1, 2 designates the tank containing the liquid for washing the are pickled and 3 the tank containing the iuxing bath 4. Mounted at the opposite ends of the tank 3 are pairs of feed rolls 5 and 6, the rolls being the usual squeegee rolls, and extending between these pairs of feed rolls are guides 7 which dip down into the fiuxing bath.

Ad `acent the flux tank is the drying chamber 8 which is situated directly over the oven chamber 9 and separated therefrom by a partit-ion v)late 10. The oven chamber as shown has a plurality of gas burners 11 extending into burner openings 12 in the side walls of the oven chamber, but the heating of the drying oven may be accomplished by electric or' other means. The heatfrom the oven chamber radiates through the plate 10, which is preferably of metal, and heats the drying chamber above which dries the sheets as they are carried through the drying chamber by the conveyors.

Two sets of'chain conveyors 13 and 14 are provided in the drying chamber, one above the other. The chains 13 engage sprockets 15 and 16 on shafts 17 and 18 and the chainsf 14 engage sprockets 19 and 20 on shafts 21 and 22. The shaft 22 extends laterally from the drying chamber and has a pulley 23 mounted thereon, whereby the shaft is adapted to be driven by a belt from any suitable source of power. The shaft 22 is operatively l connected to the shaft 18 through the gears' 24. The shaft 17 is operatively 'connected vto a shaft 25 directly above the same by gears 26. The shaft 25.

is operatively connected with the upper roll of the pair of feed rolls 6 by a sprocket chain 27 and the shaft 21 is operatively connected with the lower roll of the pair of feed rolls 5 by a sprocket chain 28.

Arranged between the feed rolls 6 and the chain conveyors 13 and 14 is a movable guide plate 29. This guide plate is carried by a horizontal rock-shaft 3l) journaled in bearings 31 carried by the flux tank 3. Attached to one end of the shaft 30 is a rocker-arm 32. This rocker arm is connected by a link 33 with a foot lever 34 pivoted at 35 to a bracket 36. When the guide plate occupies the full line position shown in Figure 5, plates passing through the feed rolls 6 aredehvered to the upper set of conveyor chains 13, but when the guide plate occupies the chain line position Yshown in Figure 5, plates passing through the feed rolls are delivered to the lower set of conveyor chains 14 over a guide plate 37 extending from one end of the flux tank 3, The guide plate 28 is made to assume either of the said positions by operating the foot lever 34. While the plate 29 is a simple and convenient means for directing the plates to the two sets of chain conveyors alternately, any other suitable means may be employed.

At the discharge end of the drying chamber two pairs 'of feed rolls 38 and 39 are provided, one for each set of chain conveyors,

land arranged between these pairs of feed rolls. and the discharge end of the chain conveyors are suitable guide bars 40 and 41. The drying chamber. is provided with a removable cover extending over the chain conveyors, the guide plate 29 and the guide bars 40 and 41. This cover may consist of metal plates 42 supported on angle bars 43.

In the comparatively long travel of the sheets through the flux tank into and through the drying chamber they may have a tendency to back cornerwise or askew and jam at some point, all depending upon the care with which the sheetsare entered by the workmen in the squeegee rolls 5. In order to avoid any such difeulty, vertical guide rollers 88 maybe provided in the dry, ing chamber at opposite sides of the conveyors 13 and 14. These rollers run loose on shafts 89.

Adjacent the discharge end of the drier is the galvanizing apparatus comprising the galvamzmg vertically downward int-o the spelter bath. Arranged between the intake rolls 47 and the feed rolls-39 are guides 49 and between the intake rolls 48 and the feed rolls 38 guides 50. Each pair of exit rolls 51, and 52 alsov has the axes of the rolls in the saine horizontal plane so as to feed the sheets ont of the spelter bath vertically. The sheets are caused to enter the bath vertically in order to avoid trapping zinc ashes floating on the surface of the bath and carrying such ashesdown into the bath in contat-t with one side of the sheets, which might occur if the sheets entered the bath in an inclined position as with the usual arrangement of the intake rolls. The sheets are caused to emerge from the bath in a vertical position in order to permit the surplus spelter to drain evenly from both sides of the sheets. Two pairs of bottom rolls 53 and 54 are provided, each pair of bottom rolls having the axes of the rolls in the same vertical plane. Intermediate the bottom rolls 53 and the intake rolls 47 and exit rolls 51 respectively are guides 55 and 56, while intermediate the bottom rolls 54 and the intake rolls 48 and exit rolls 52y respectively, are guides 57 and 58.

It is desirable to yieldingly press the rolls of each pair of exit rolls towards each other. For yieldingly pressing one of. the -rolls 51 towards the other, vertical rods 59 are mounted for vertical movement in brackets 60 carried by the frame 46 and extending over the spelter bath. The rods 59 have Wedges 61 on their lower ends which engage thel necks of the movable roll 51, while at their upper ends these rods carry removable weights 62. Pivotally connected to the inner ends of the brackets 60 are bell-crank levers 63. Each lever 63 has an integral right angled extension 64 at the free end of one arm thereof which engages a. neck of the movable roll 52. The other arm ot' each bell-crank lever carries an adjustable weight 65.

While I have shown the bars 40 and 41 for guiding the sheets from the chain conveyors 13 and 14 to the rolls 38 and 39 and guides 49 and 50 for guiding the sheets from the rolls 38 and 39 to the intake rolls 47 andl 48, I-may, in order to reduce rubbing lcontact with the sheetsysubstitute for these guides toothed rolls adapted to make only point-contact with the sheets.

It will be seen that the galvanizing apparatus comprises one complete set. of feed rolls for feeding the sheets coming from the lower conveyor through the spelter bath and another set of feed rolls arranged above the first set for feeding the sheets from the upper conveyor through the. spelter -bath. All of the feed rolls associated with the galvanlzmg pot and the feed rolls 38 and 39 at the discharge end of the drying chamber are adapted to be driven from the same source of power. A horizontal power shaft 66 has a bevel gear 67 on its inner end meshing with another bevel gear 68 o`n the upper end of a worm shaft 69. The worm shaft 69 has a worm 70 on its lower end which through a train of gears 7l drives the lower roll of each pair of bottom rolls 53 and 54. Each pair of bottom rolls is geared together by the gears 72 and 73. The power shaft 66 carries a pinion 74 which .meshes -with a gear 75 on a shaft 76. The shaft 7 6 drives one of the intake rolls 48 through the'chain 77 and the intake 'rolls 47 and 48 are geared together through the gears 7 8 and 79. The

shaft 76 drives a shaft 80 through the chain sheetsthrough the guides 49 and 50vto thev 81. The shaft 80 drives the exit rolls 51 and 52 through the gearing 82 and 83. One of the intake rolls 47 has a shaft extension 84l which is operatively connected with one of the feed rolls 39 through a chain'85. The feed rolls 38 and 39 are geared together by the gears 86 and 87. The two sets of feed rolls associated with the galvanizing pot are mounted in the frame 46 so that the frame and the associated parts can be removed from the galvanizing pot as a unit.

It will be apparent that the sheets which vpass through the lower set of galvanizing rolls have a longer path of travel than those which pass through the upper sets of galvanizing rolls and also that the weight of the coating on the sheets will depend upon the length of time that the sheets remain in the spelter bath. Consequently it is herey lu'xing bath 4 between the guides 7 by the feed rolls 5 and 6. The sheets, wet with the luxing material, are delivered tol the two sets of chain conveyors 13 and 14 alternately by operating the guide plate 29. -The chain conveyors 13 and 14 deliverv the sheets over the guide bars 40 and 41 to the feed rolls 3 8 and 39 and the latter deliver the The sheets to be galvanized are fed through the` intake rolls 47 and 48. These latter rolls together with the bottom rolls 53 and 54 and the exit rolls 51 and 52 and the cooperating guides feed the sheets through the spelter bath.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the inventionis not limited to the construction shown, but may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit of the invention; For example, while I have shown two sets of rolls associated with the galvanizing pot, it is contemplated that with a wider and deeper pot 'more' than two sets of rolls might be employed with a correspondingly greater number' of conveyors in the drying chamber. Moreover, the improved galvanizing apparatus comprising a plurality of sets of rolls may be used independently ot' any drying apparatus.

'Ihe advantages of my invention result from the provision of an apparatus for galvanizing metal sheets in which mechanism is combined with the outlet end of the flux tank or box, forlselectively feeding sheets therefrom directly to either of two conveyors, for conveying the sheets through an enclosing chamber to a galvanizing pot having two sheet feeding units, whereby the capacity of the drier can be doubled by merely doubling the speed. of output from the fiuxing tank, and without increasing the speed and consequently the length of the drier.-

I claim: v l.

Apparatus for galvanizing metal sheets comprising a galvanizing pot\ having two sheet feeding units associated therewith for lfeeding sheets through the bath in the pot', one ofsaid units being superimposed over the other, separate superimposed conveyors for each of the said yfeeding' units, a common chamber enclosing 'the conveyors, a single fluxing tank, and means for selectively feeding sheets from theruxing tank directly on 'to either of the-said conveyors.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. f y

. ELMER lT. MCCLEARY. 

